This invention relates to package containers such as heat-sealable plastic or foil-type bags, and more particularly to alternative sealing and structural arrangements for such containers.
The common practice in the packaging of various commodities is to enclose same within plastic bags, such as those made of polyethelene and the like, having opposing front and rear panels and opposing transverse top and bottom seals. In bags of this class, the seals are conventionally formed by a combination of heat and pressure mechanically applied to appropriate locations on a continuously advancing web of sheet material previously formed into a generally tubular structure. In addition to top and bottom seals, a longitudinally extending, vertical midline seam is usually seen on a rear panel of the bag and is formed by heat-sealing overlapping edges of the sheet material used in its construction. The top and bottom seals, which are often three-eighths to three-quarters of an inch in width, may take on a corrugated or pleated appearance, while the midline seam is generally flat in character and may be folded against the rear panel of the bag.
Packaged food items, such as snack foods and frozen foods, represent a type of commodity which may not be entirely used after opening. It is often desireable to store such contents in the package until the package is empty. Particularly with regard to food items, it is desirable, after opening, to reclose the bag in some fashion which will return the bag to a substantially closed state, in an effort to preserve the freshness of the product and to prevent a spilling of contents. Examples of reclosing arrangements are Lieschke, U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,756; Ehlers, U.S. Pat. No. 3,233,821; Palmer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,850; and Pace, U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,537. As prior art teaching has been found difficult or expensive to practice, or otherwise unacceptable, often no provision attends the construction of the bag which allows for an effective bag reclosing.
Because of the inherent strengh of the heat seals, packaging material, and/or structural formation of the bag itself, another problem related to the construction of plastic bags is a difficulty encountered in their opening. This problem is well known, and has been addressed in the past by the use of readily openable heat seals (U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,537 to Pace), tear strips (U.S. Pat. No. 2,613,049 to Bartelt), perforated lines (U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,253 to Mojonnier), and tab projections in various forms (U.S. Pat. No. 2,189,174 to Hohl and U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,756 to Lieschke), to mention a few of the easy-opening provisions for plastic bags and the like. Because of inherent drawbacks in practicing some of these and other prior art methods and arrangements, often no special provision is made in the construction and sealing of bags to convenience their opening. Therefore, the consumer is left to the undesireable or difficult task of tearing at the bag or cutting the bag to gain access to its contents.
The present invention provides an improved bag construction which fulfills a much-needed resealing function and which, in turn, readily lends itself to the practice of embodiment which allow for an ease-of-opening for access to package contents.
It is, therefore, a principle object of the present invention to provide an improved bag construction which allows for an effective reclosing of the bag after opening.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a reclosing arrangement for bags, together with further improvements in bag construction favoring a convenient and easy opening thereof.
These and other objects will become apparent from a study of the summary and the detailed description of the invention in light of the attending drawing.